Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world, spanning the international borders of five countries in Southern Africa. It includes a major part of the Upper Zambezi River and Okavango basins and Delta, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, the southeastern part of Angola, southwestern Zambia, the northern wildlands of Botswana and western Zimbabwe. The centre of this area is at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. It incorporates a number of notable national parks and nature sites, including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, and the Victoria Falls. The region is home to a population of approximately 250,000 animals, including the largest population of African Elephants in the world.[1]

History

The idea was initiated by Shoshong Constituency Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature. It was inspired by the Okavango–Upper Zambezi International Tourism Initiative and the Four Corners Transboundary Natural Resource Management. In 2003 the ministers responsible for tourism in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe met in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, about the project.[2] In 2006 the Southern African Development Community (SADC) endorsed the KAZA TFCA as a SADC project, and later in 2006 the five partner countries signed a memorandum of understanding at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.[2] The establishment of the area was confirmed on August 18, 2011, through a treaty signed by the heads of government of the five participating countries.[3] The official opening of the area occurred on March 15, 2012, in Katima Mulilo.[3]

Financial support comes from a variety of sources. These include KfW Development bank, the German government, the World Bank, the Netherlands, and Sweden.[4]

Lions were studied throughout the area in 2014.[5] In November 2014, the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe introduced a common KAZA visa, allowing holders to move freely across borders within the conservation area.[6]

Components

German-language map of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area has an area of 520,000 km2 (200,000 sq mi).[7] Of this land, 17% is in Angola, 30% in Botswana, 14% in Namibia, 25% in Zambia, and 14% in Zimbabwe.[citation needed]

287,132 km2 (110,862 sq mi) of the included land consists of pre-existing protected areas.[8] The incorporated protected areas are:

in Zambia:

in Namibia:

in Botswana:

in Zimbabwe:

in Angola:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Southern African Peace Parks - Peace Parks Foundation - The Global Solution". 2009-12-19. Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  2. ^ a b "Kavango Zambezi Park Development". Peace Parks Foundation. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  3. ^ a b Zeitung, Allgemeine (2012-03-16). "KAZA: Größtes Naturschutzgebiet in Afrika eröffnet". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  4. ^ "Donors". kavangozambezi.org. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  5. ^ Elliot, N.B.; Cushman, S.A.; Macdonald, D.W.; Loveridge, A.J. (2014). "The devil is in the dispersers: predictions of landscape connectivity change with demography". Journal of Applied Ecology. 51 (5): 1169–1178. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12282.
  6. ^ "KAZA Visa for Zambia and Zimbabwe". Archived from the original on 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  7. ^ "Kavango Zambezi .:. Peace Parks Foundation". 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
  8. ^ "KAZA-TFCA". 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2022-11-09.

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